To choose a career, to pursue a
career, to change a career, or to end a career—they often come with the bag and
baggage of the signs and symptoms of depression, such as fear, regret,
disappointment, and among others.
Career choices
A case in point
A Chinese couple in Canada have a
son who wants to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Their son in
his early thirties decided to go to Beijing
to learn the Chinese language as a prerequisite of his career pursuit. His
parents have opposed to the idea of living in Beijing , or rather pursuing a career in the
entertainment industry.
The different
perspectives
From the parents’
perspectives: a really successful career in the entertainment industry is few
and far between, especially if it is not pursued at a much younger age.
From the son’s
perspectives: money, glamour, and quick recognition often come with success in
a career in the entertainment industry.
The ultimate
truths
A be-all-and-end-all
career based on only one variable, which is money, may
not turn out that way.
Any glamorous career is
always competitive, but it does not mean it is unachievable at any age. Have an
empty mind that everything is doable and achievable irrespective of the age.
Recognition should not
be the only primary reason for pursuing any career; rather, passion should be
the driving force behind.
Easy success in any
human endeavor hurts ultimately, especially a career in the long term, because
it does not expand an individual’s capacity and capability to deal with
problems when they get tough, or to have the persistence to go through them
when things do not turn out as expected. Hard-earned success, on the other
hand, may prepare an individual for more success in the future through
persistence and perseverance.
The reality
There is no right or
wrong in the choice or pursuit of your career; after all, it is your career, and others may be looking
at your career from their own perspectives.
Follow your passion, not people or what they say.
Success comes from hard work, and not from wishful thinking. Spend your
internal energy pursuing what you want, not defending or explaining why you want
it; the latter has to do with your ego. Always ask yourself many self-intuitive
questions about why and how you want to pursue your career
goals.
TAO wisdom
According to TAO,
choosing a career is like digging a well. Did you choose the right spot? Have
you dug deep enough? If nothing happens according to your expectation, then
self-doubt, reinforced by fear and uncertainty, may make you go for another
spot. Going for another spot and yet another one may only bring you further
frustration and more disappointment.
The bottom line:
carefully choose your career, apply persistent effort, and you will find your
initial investment of time and effort rewarding. Even if you choose to move on
after a while, you will still find it very worthwhile because you have learned
something from it TAO says that giving up is not an admission of defeat or
disappointment; rather, giving up is letting go of any resistance when dealing
with the chaos of life, and redirecting your energy to a higher purpose.
This
book is perhaps one the few books with an unconventional approach to depression, a universal mind
disorder. Instead of the conventional ways of avoiding depression with distractions, such as
exercise, suppressing its symptoms with affirmations and
visualizations, and elevating its depressive moods with
medications, this 180-page book uses the ancient wisdom from China , what is known as TAO wisdom, to experience anything and everything in depression,
that is, going through every aspect of depression.
TAO
wisdom may enlighten you so that you can ultimately free yourself from depression, or at least
look at your own depression very differently.
Stephen Lau
Copyright © Stephen
Lau
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